Re: the flooding north of England

[MrsSocks]

Living in a small village that is now essentially an island having been cut off by water, I just want to say what amazing community spirit and support I have witnessed in the last few hours! People coming together and help eachother out in the most extreme of ways, businesses opening to offer overnight shelters, emergency services working tirelessly, and strangers offering to go above and beyond to help those in need. Thank goodness we can still have some faith in humanity

Plus the full moon/high tides are affecting the rivers flowing out and flooding more places.
Furness doesn't have much in the way of rivers but has the sea to flood instead.
Still as long as everyone stays away from the water we can stay safe, the water isn't coming close enough to get us like in so many other places.

No updates?

You've also been dropped by the Bbc news as they've moved on to York and west Yorkshire.

Don't let the country forget you.

Barely been on the news apart from Carlisle anyway. Kendal was worst hit in terms of homes affected and Appleby/Glenridding/other smaller places in terms of frequency.
Transport links are pretty fragile anyway and the A591 diversion is 70 miles officially and not due to be fixed for months. Cumbria needs that road, it's pretty much the main road of the Lake District. Cumbria needs to be open for tourists and is fighting back but can only do that with financial help.
I'm lucky and no damage etc but know plenty of people that were flooded out.

Thanks doc marten. A 70 mile detour is just ridiculous. Yes you do need that road. I definitely want to be over there in 2016. We missed this year.
I see what you mean about the 591.

Let's hope they don't drag their feet in rebuilding it.

Have the waters subsided. As soon as we know it's safe/ won't be in the way we'll get up early and have a day trip and show a bit of support!

There's ways round the 70m for locals but still not very easy ones. 70m for any decent sized vehicle too.

The news looks terrible
I have to say that the picture the bbc keep showing locals placing sandbags while the army look on doing f all are sad and there appears to be precisely 4 ins of sandbag between the river and the homes so why the army is so complacent I dont know : they should have been out sourcing more sandbags
Also the pictures of York are a bit sad. No one doing anything much about anything.
And why should an essential road in Cumbria be closed??? What is the army doing except swan around in pristine berets?

I can only speak for what I am seeing in York funny but here the army have been working incredibly hard. No sign of a pristine beret!

The army have been building up here. There's been calls for the royal engineers to sort out all the missing bridges but not sure if they're coming or what.
The problem with the A591 is the repeated rain is damaging the fell around it and keeps being landslides.

There's a ongoing issue with roads not being fixed which hasn't helped them in the rain/floods

I phoned the emergency number up earlier today ( I had no alternative as the Council office is now shut until the 4th Jan) to get more sandbags as we are facing Storm Frank on Wednesday ( damn and blast)

I was told our Council is elsewhere delivering sandbags to a different region. (amazing as noone from a totally different council gave us any help during our first flooding emergency.

They also couldn't give me any assurance that I would get any more sandbags. The operator then Proceeded to tell me how many sandbags had already been delivered to the area. As if I give a flying fuck how many sandbags have already been delivered.
However many have been delivered THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH. Who are they? The sandbag Police FFS !

I have also listened to Emergency workers telling me that they have worked for days and how tired they are. FFS, not as tired as some one who has actually been flooded. Try that for size. I know I would rather be an emergency worker than be flooded any day.

David Cameron was on the TV tonight, spouting again. The bare faced lying that is going on. He knows that previously the flood defence budget was cut. We know, that he knows the budget was cut.
He also is perfectly aware, that when this situation has calmed down, that the budget will be cut again. CYNICAL. TOTALLY CYNICAL !

Wish I could help himh
Cumbria is forgotten about again.
Dh said someone was on the news today talking about Cameron not applying for EU funding to help so it's finally made it through to the BBC

I hate to wish this situation on anyone but David Cameron and George Osbournes many homes ( because they will have more than one) need to flood.
Also their Parents homes need to flood, every year, or be threatened with flooding every year and then something might be done.
Elisabeth Truss is not going to be strong enough to get the money needed is she?
We also need a lot of strength and energy to keep what happened in the public eye.
Cumbria has disappeared from the media already and in a few months, this situation will have been forgotten.
I feel so tired and the fight to get something done about flood prevention, hasn't even started yet.
Mmmmm and will my village get more sandbags from the sandbag Police today?

Have seen some more fire engines heading to Cumbria ahead of Frank. Twitter tells me they're coming from Herts.
Cumbria has had every storm this winter so far surely that needs some attention. Frank has wind warnings too which will be a risk round the coast with high tides so potentially even more of the county under water.
Hope your sandbag fairy arrives Himh this really isn't fair.

Just checking in to say 'you are not forgotten' - himh how is the chest infection?

Useless from me.

Cumbria may have been forgotten about by the press, but not by "real" people. You are in countless hearts across the country.

himh I agree with everything you said about Cameron and the "investment" in flood protection. Arsehole.

Certainly not forgotten here. Thank you for your updates himh. I too hope you are recovering from your chest infection.

Just keep getting the message out. The press may have dropped you but thank god for social media.

Keep making as much noise as possible ( helpful to get as many locals doing that as you can)

Don't let those ( bad) decision makers off the hook. Hang them out to dry, like all your soiled and wet belongings.

I was holding sway yesterday about the decision to open the flood barriers in York the other day. I don't know the ins and outs of it but it didn't make sense to ruin 600 more properties and put more people through the wringer. We've had two fine days since. The levels would have dropped naturally I would have thought.

Plus they must start dreading the rivers again. Make deeper channels for the water to run away. Florida gets horrendous storms. I've seen them and driven in them but their huge storm drains clear it all away in hours.

There needs to be a bigger investment in our infrastructure . Not just barriers to hold the water back but efficient means to get it away. Deeper river beds and bigger drainage is the way forward....not relying on sandbags . It's too late then. The damage is done. You're just like sitting ducks if you're meant to rely on antiquated methods.

All those affected have to keep banging the drum and make them listen and act.

( I'm sure you are doing that . I hope you've got the support of all the locals behind you)

Have you seen the thread on dredging in AIBU? Its quite enlightening.

Yes I'm totally with you on the sandbag front as anyone with half an eye can see there arent enough oop north and down south here the weather is loverly and we dont need sandbags or fire engines half as much as you do and the Southern councils should be helping out more: herts and bucks and beds and oxon and hampshire and dorset etc And pretty but useless Cameron should be making a BIG fuss to the EU and getting disaster relief money as PM that is his job. He likes compromises and for this reason is no good in a real crisis.
Cumbria is a disaster zone, York is a disaster zone and I was under the impression it was a world heritage site or similar, Hebden Bridge looked alarming, and there is more rain to come. I think Cameron needs to act fast.
I expect the volunteers are a bit tired himh you are tired too but they are tired too. I'm sorry for you all here are some more useless

Yes the more I think about it the more I think now is the time for the South to show it cares about the North. All the Oxbridge and London students should go and volunteer. Half of them often holiday in the new year in Cumbria before they go ski-ing. They need to Give Back.
Even I have been to the Lake District once. It is part of the National Heritage.

Well I haven't met any volunteers except our Vicar. He has done a Stirling job. All the others have been council employees and they have been truly lovely. I had two in for coffee today.
However, it is not their disaster and however much they sympathise with us they can't actually influence what is going to happen.

We have had so called experts design a flood protection scheme that has failed. BUT I knew it would, as it has been failing since 1995 through lack of funding.
The embankments don't get mowed. The drains don't get cleaned out, the dykes don't get dredged and the whole infrastructure is sagging at the knees.
An enquiry into what happened is going to take years. This whole miserable episode will be forgotten and then funding will be withdrawn until the next disaster. Then we will have another politician on TV telling us how much he has spent on flood defences.
Whatever Cameron has spent, it OBVIOUSLY WASNT ENOUGH. I don't know how he has the bare faced cheek to even mention what he has spent.

How am I ever going to get out of my house and downsize?

My chest infection has worsened. I think the house is damp even though it is like a greenhouse, it is going to take months to dry out.
Frank is on the way so we have moved the cars onto higher ground. I do hope we don't get flooded tomorrow.

There must be an increased risk of infection with river water and sewage
Perhaps you could temporarily move to somewhere dry

Himh..I am so worried about you. You should not be living like this while you are I'll. ( you should not have to live like this at all)

I understand ( from the news) your area was full of troops and volunteers.

I can't believe you are struggling along on your own and naturally you don't feel up to campaigning right now.

You must heal first.

Hope you feel better today.

funnyperson On Sunday evening my 21yo DS1 got a message calling for volunteers to help with the floods. He's a soldier, we live 3 hours from his base, and he was in the car 15 minutes later. He couldn't stand by and watch those people suffer knowing that he could be helping, despite his 19 yo brother being at home from uni and most of his school mates being in town. He picked his best mate up on the way, who left his DP and 2 kids. Both of them had already done a duty over the Christmas leave period.

By the time all the soldiers from his regiment had sorted what they needed and arrived where they needed to be it was almost 4am. They got straight on to filling sandbags. Once light they were out sand bagging buildings, clearing out houses for the people who couldn't do it, and for people who could but felt "entitled" to use the help. They finished at 2am.

They have dug fat out of sewers so the water has been able to drain easier. Whilst they were doing this they were shouted and screamed at by members of the public for "doing the wrong thing".

He filled sandbags and built an 8ft wall around an electricity substation to hopefully enable people to keep their power. People were moaning that that particular substation belonged to X power company (they saw vans) and they didn't get their power from them so it's "not fair". They were also moaned at for trying to stop a 999 call centre from flooding.

He wasn't fed for over 9 hours. Morrisons and Tesco provided food one day, McDonalds gave them a free burger. They didn't know when and where they were getting any sleep. It cost him money to do this to help people out. The petrol alone was £60, he can't claim that back. I shall be putting that in his bank account.

He's absolutely tired out, he looks pale and washed out. Comments like your's are not helpful. I am hugely proud of him. He didn't put his head down, turn the other cheek and wait for others to do it. He did it. I can't believe how so many people want to give them a kicking for doing something worthy.

thefairycaravan he sounds brilliant

Aw fairy caravan. That brought tears to my eyes.
What a lovely, brilliant young man.

One of britain's finest.

fairycaravan we are sooo grateful. Any critism of your son is not personal, believe me. I cried when I read your post. We fed our Soldiers and they were offered accommodation in the Church or in local homes.
My nephew came from South Wales to help with a pump.

What it is, is that we are so angry. I have been fighting for years with the EA about the flood defences.
So your son would be faced by angry, distressed and frightened people. Some who have literally lost everything.
Although the Government is saying that money will be available, you will pretty much, be on your own. We know that.

So thank your wonderful son for his efforts. Personally, I wouldn't be mean to anyone, but it is quite something to adjust to and face the fact that your main asset has become fairly worthless, with equanimity.